Tag: Red Auerbach

On this day: Red passes; KC Jones coach, Hudson, Rozier, Mickey, R. Morgan, Cook player debuts; Nelson signed

On this day, legendary Boston Celtics team president and coach Red Auerbach passed away in 2006.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, legendary Celtics team president and coach Arnold “Red” Auerbach passed away at the age of 89 in 2006. Auerbach assembled a career in basketball unparalleled in its time and to this day, winning nine titles with the team as a coach, and seven more as an executive.

He joined the franchise in 1950 after stints coaching the Washington Capitols (now defunct) in the Basketball Association of America (BAA – a precursor league to the NBA) and at the NCAA level as an assistant coach with the Duke Blue Devils before joining the Celtics.

Red — as he was often called — transformed the game with his emphasis on the fast break and team-focused play reliant on ball movement at all positions.

Boston Celtics all-time roster: See which legends made the cut

In honor of the NBA’s 75th anniversary, we present the best rosters in Celtics history drawn from every era.

In honor of the 75 years the Boston Celtics have been a foundational part of the league they helped shepherd from its days as the Basketball Association of America, the predecessor league it was formed from, we at the Celtics Wire decided to try our own hand at the many lists of players being commemorated as part of the Association hitting the three-quarters century mark.

To that end, we have put together not just one but four all-time Celtics teams, featuring our Honorable Mention team along with First, Second, and Third team honors. It is a veritable ‘who’s who’ of iconic Boston players — and each team has a head coach drawn from the greatest the Celtics have to offer in that regard.

The criteria for ranking is a subjective mixture of what each player did as a Celtic and how good of a player they were in their era. With this in mind, if you disagree with our rankings, that’s likely why. So without further ado — here are our teams.

WATCH: NBA TV’s ‘Basketballography’ documentary on Boston’s Red Auerbach

Check out this documentary highlighting the legendary Celtics coach and team president.

On Oct. 18, 1950, Arnold “Red” Auerbach coached his first preseason game for a club he helmed in some capacity until his death in 2006. And it is no coincidence Auerbach was tied to the Boston Celtics for the better part of six decades either.

Among the winningest coaches and general managers in sports history, 16 of Boston’s 17 NBA titles have Auerbach’s fingerprints on them. In celebration of the legacy he helped set in motion, the folks at NBA TV dedicated an entire episode of their “Basketballography” show to Auerbach and his career at the helm of the Celtics.

Watch the video embedded below hosted by Basketballography’s Andre Aldridge to catch the full documentary on the legendary Auerbach for yourself, courtesy of YouTuber ginoongkamote’s channel.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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WATCH: Boston legends Red Auerbach, Bill Russell and Bob Ryan on Celtics mystique

The trio discussed just what that term means for the storied franchise and its fans in this historic clip.

Quite a lot of ink has been spilled over the decades on the Celtics mystique with many a sportswriter trying to convey an understanding of what it meant to be a part of — or up against — the Boston Celtics. With 17 titles to their name, a large part is the history and glory of playing underneath those banners.

But it encompasses more than that if you ask the men who built it. Legendary Boston beat reporter Bob Ryan did exactly that once upon a time, sitting down with Celtics legends Arnold “Red” Auerbach and Bill Russell to talk about the air of invincibility, deep roots and togetherness that is in part that fabled quality.

To hear Red and Bill break down exactly what the Celtics mystique is, check out this clip from the vault of our friends over at CLNS Media embedded below.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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WATCH: Celtics coaching legend Red Auerbach’s last game, Boston’s ninth title

This would be Boston’s eighth consecutive title and Auerbach’s final game as head coach.

With an unmatched record in US professional sports, Arnold “Red” Auerbach threw in the towel on being an NBA head coach when he played his last game in that role for the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Celtics’ 1966 NBA Finals series with their longtime rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Boston would of course win the game, the series, and the title — their eighth consecutive and ninth overall. In the years that followed, Celtics star big man Bill Russell would take the team’s helm as a player-coach, becoming the first Black head coach not only in NBA history but in the histories of any of the four major North American sports. Red had earned his retirement to a front-office job, having amassed a 938 – 479 record as a head coach, most of it with the Celtics.

To watch clips from that historic game, check out the video embedded below, courtesy of our friends over at CLNS Media’s “NBA History & Legends on CLNS” YouTube channel.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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WATCH: Could Timelord improve his game with a little ‘Red on Roundball?’

Auerbach’s famous expository halftime series has some especially salient advice for Robert Williams, it seems.

Boston Celtics legendary head coach and President of Basketball Operations Red Auerbach once had his own show broadcast during the halftime segment of televised NBA games, and some episodes contained some brilliant advice that even contemporary players on the Celtics roster could benefit from.

One such example is the episode of “Red on Roundball” (the name of Auerbach’s show) on blocking shots. Noting that while the vicious swat can indeed be demoralizing, a soft touch directed at a teammate to start a fast break instead of sending it into the stands — we’re looking at you, Robert Williams III — can generate offense almost out of thin air.

The strategy needs the deft reflexes and court awareness Timelord possesses, who has already flashed a savvy ability to move the ball for a big man, even in the air.

Watch the clip embedded above to see a sampling of that episode and to get an idea about how Williams might be able to learn a few tricks out of a very old playbook.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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WATCH: Boston Celtics Red Auerbach, Bob Cousy and Bill Sharman take on MLB’s Braves – in sports trivia

Watch three Celtics try to best three Braves on a popular 1970s sports trivia game show.

We might have broken a few brains when we revealed that the Boston Celtics beat the Washington Senators (or rather a trio of representatives from each team) once on a sports-themed game show hailing from the early 1970s, but the Celtics seemed to turn everything they touched to gold back in those days.

It wasn’t the only appearance for Boston on the show — called “Sports Challenge” — either. Within a year of the win by Bill Russell, John Havlicek, and Red Auerbach, another trio of Celtics made an appearance on the show. Auerbach returned with champion Celtics Bob Cousy and Bill Sharman to face off against three stars of the then recently-relocated Atlanta (previously of Milwaukee) Braves MLB team, though we won’t give away the ending this time for the curious among you.

Watch the clip for yourself to see how the Celtics did their second time on the show courtesy of the CLNS Media YouTube channel “NBA History and Legends on CLNS”.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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WATCH: How the Boston Celtics beat MLB’s Washington Senators in 1971

It wasn’t basketball (or baseball), but Boston won anyway.

The Boston Celtics weren’t just competitive on the basketball court in the 1970s; in that decade, they even took on the Washington Senators of Major League Baseball and won.

Confused? Well, it’s likely because this contest took place on a sports game show from that era called “Sports Challenge” and pitted Red Auerbach, Bill Russell and John Havlicek against Ted Williams, Frank Howard and Denny McClain of the Senators. The game went down to the wire, with the Celtics pulling off a win late with the deep and broad sports knowledge going far beyond the sport they made history with as one of sports’ winningest franchises.

Watch the video embedded above to see the game show in its entirety, with a special guest appearing at the end just to spice things up after Boston had wrapped things up.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Can you name all six Hall of Fame coaches of the Boston Celtics?

Better yet, can you do it in order?

The Boston Celtics have plenty of former players in Springfield, Massachusetts Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, and plenty more who may yet one day help people its ranks. But the storied franchise has had plenty of stellar leadership on the other side of the clipboard as well, with six former coaches having earned immortalization in basketball’s Mount Olympus.

Celtics fans may not be very crazy about at least one of the five among the franchise’s least popular alumni, but he still counts, and puts Boston among the league’s most decorated teams when it comes to historically recognized coaches on its payroll.

Let’s take a look at those Hall of Fame Celtics coaches, from the evil emperor himself to the greatest head coach in the history of the NBA.

WATCH: Larry Bird talks on when Danny Ainge told Red Auerbach to trade him and Kevin Mchale

What a different timeline this would have been had Auerbach agreed.

In retrospect, it was clear as day that former Boston Celtics player and general manager Danny Ainge would make the move to a front office after his playing career once it was clear he had the stones to push legendary Celtics team president Red Auerbach to trade his teammates Larry Bird and Kevin McHale while they still had some trade value.

And it wasn’t like Ainge did it behind closed doors — according to Larry Bird in an interview with now-Ringer head honcho Bill Simmons, he was there on that day and a witness to it! While Ainge might have lost a bit of that brashness towards the end of his nearly two-decade career as Boston’s team president, it also brought him a lot of success (and a title) early on.

To hear Bird’s account of that audacious exchange — and the players who they could have gotten back in return — watch the video embedded below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8azMvUij95E

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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